


But, oh, how it feels so real

by dreamsdisjointed



Category: The Office (US)
Genre: Crack Relationships, Crack Treated Seriously, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, based off an instagram post, i also do not write words ever because i do maths, i use too many commas because i never bothered learning how grammar works, i will become the jim/roy supreme, i wrote this in one evening listening exclusively to anime OPs and kpop, previous pam beesly/roy anderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 21:46:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29831361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamsdisjointed/pseuds/dreamsdisjointed
Summary: Jim just wants a low-key birthday, but gets more than he bargained for when his co-workers decide to throw him a surprise party.
Relationships: Roy Anderson/Jim Halpert
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	But, oh, how it feels so real

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly really hope no one reads this, and if you are I question your sanity (and my own). However, I do hope you enjoy and please forgive any errors because I literally never paid attention in primary school when we learnt grammar rules and now I'm not sure if I'll ever know.

For Jim Halpert, his birthday was much like every other day. October 1st had come and gone with minimal fuss for every year of his adult life - every year, that was, until this year. 

His day had started off perfectly normal, replying to the few birthday wishes he received on Facebook while munching on some jam toast, before grabbing his coat and hopping in his car to head off to work. The journey to Dunder Mifflin was a very familiar one to Jim, having worked there for a number of years. He hadn’t really been the type of guy to focus on befriending his co-workers when he first began as an employee - not that he was an introvert by any means, just someone who wanted to keep their personal and work lives separate - but over the years himself and the rest of the office had unwittingly become very close. Of course, this did not mean his colleagues knew everything about him. Gossip travelled fast, courtesy of Kelly, and so Jim did make an effort to keep some of his details about his personal life private, largely just to avoid any fuss. Unfortunately, nothing was ever quite that simple.

Silence reigned as Jim walked into the office, and he felt the uncomfortable sensation of several pairs of eyes trained on him. Unsure of what brought on the sudden change to the usual atmosphere, he just walked over to his desk and logged onto his computer. The typical low-level chatter resumed shortly after, but those few seconds stayed on Jim’s mind for a while. It was very fair to say that the people he worked with had their quirks, but very rarely did they act as strangely as they were today. Every now and then he looked up from his desk and spotted someone staring at him from across the room with a poorly concealed smile on their face, and even Angela was looking far too pleased with herself. It was clear that he was somehow the cause of his co-workers’ weird behaviour, but no one was giving him answers.

As the day trudged on, Jim got increasingly bored and he found himself missing the easy banter he shared with the receptionist, Pam. She had spent very little time sitting at her usual spot, instead spending the day running errands around Scranton. If he had to pick out any individual at Dunder Mifflin as his best friend, Jim would almost certainly choose her. They had joined within a few months of each other, and the position of his desk left him in the prime spot to pick up conversation in the slower hours of the day. Naturally, their closeness spawned rumours about a romantic connection between the two but these were quickly put to rest as Pam assured everyone that she would never cheat on her (now ex) fiancé. That was one reason they never got together, the other being that Jim was really, really gay.

Being gay had never really bothered Jim very much. There was no big realisation, no specific moment he could pinpoint as when he realised he was gay: liking men had always been natural to him. Though very comfortable in his sexuality, he had always promised himself that he would never come out to those at work. This wasn’t to say that the thought hadn’t crossed his mind a few times, but after viewing the treatment that Oscar got and nearly vomiting at the thought of having to kiss Michael in a display of ‘support and acceptance’ he had decided firmly against it. Besides, he didn’t want his romantic life to become any of their business, and he was very firmly against the idea of anyone finding out he had a crush on another Dunder Mifflin employee - Pam’s ex-fiancé no less.

He really hadn’t meant to develop a crush on Roy, but it seemed like the harder he fought against it, the stronger his infatuation became. It was easier to suppress his feelings when he discovered that Roy and Pam were together. Roy became something unattainable, a pure fantasy, and there was no way Jim was going to interfere with his best friend’s relationship, no matter how much it hurt to see Pam being the recipient of his crush’s affections. Even as time went on, there was no denying the small pangs of jealousy when the two greeted each other with a kiss or as he overheard them discussing wedding details, and there was also no denying the small squeeze of happiness he felt as he watched their engagement fall apart, despite the sorrow he felt for his friend. Jim never learnt the true reason for their split, with Pam simply and unconvincingly telling him that they had drifted apart, but as he went to sleep at night he allowed himself to indulge in the possibility that Roy had left Pam for the chance to be with him.

Pam’s absence only left him with more time to wonder about why the people around him were acting so odd. Maybe he had something on his face? Possibly his hair was more of a disaster than usual. Did he somehow forget to put on trousers today? He looked down to check, just in case, but absolutely nothing about his appearance seemed out of the ordinary. Had Dwight pulled a prank on him and was just waiting for him to realise? It was a very real possibility, but Jim knew Dwight well enough by now to know when he was anticipating something. Really, his typically antagonistic co-worker was quite disinterested in him today, leaving Jim wondering what on Earth could be happening.

Time was passing far too slowly in Jim’s opinion, and it was becoming a struggle to keep his eyes open as he sank lower and lower in his chair. He pondered asking Michael if he could leave early for the day, pulling the ‘birthday’ card as his excuse if need be, but just as he was about to approach his boss, the man burst out of his office and demanded a staff meeting. Jim groaned. The chances of him being able to clock out soon were becoming impossibly slim. Eventually, he hauled himself up from his chair and dragged his feet to the meeting room, dreading the prospect of having to face any of Michael’s ridiculous announcements.

Dread very quickly melted into shock as he entered the room and was met with an eyeful of balloons, confetti and streamers.

“SURPRISE!” everyone shouted in unison.

“Happy birthday, Jim!” Pam exclaimed.

“I- wow- I,” Jim stuttered, before regaining his composure, “I never told any of you guys. How did you know?”

“Michael stalked your Facebook,” Ryan told Jim.

“I do not stalk,” Michael replied indignantly, “but I think I deserve to know this about my friends!”

“Well, wow, this is crazy. Y’know, normally I don’t celebrate my birthday but thanks guys. So, uh, let’s party!” Jim said, immediately heading to grab a beer.

~~~

Drinks were flowing, everyone appeared to be having a good time, and Jim had reached the golden stage of drunkenness in which everything was both a little fuzzier and a little funnier. He was talking to, or moreover actively tuning out, Angela, who was going on about one of her newest kittens when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder.

“Hey, Halpert,” a familiar voice said, “Happy birthday.”

Jim immediately whirled around and found himself face to face with Roy.

“Oh, hey man.” He really hoped he could excuse his rosy cheeks as simply being flush from alcohol.

“Cool party, dude,” Roy remarked, looking around.

“Yeah, it’s nice. The others did it as a surprise for me,” Jim said, trying his best not to stare at the man in front of him.

“Glad I got to come up here. I’d hate to miss your birthday.”

Maybe Jim was seeing things, but he could’ve sworn he saw a faint blush appear across Roy’s cheeks.

“Do you want me to grab you a drink?” Jim asked, and Roy nodded.

Soon, they were both nursing rum and cokes and chatting about their lives. A combination of alcohol and attraction had led to Jim inching closer and closer to Roy, drawn in by his warmth, until they were squished up side by side. If Roy had minded, he didn’t say anything and just carried on talking like nothing was out of the ordinary. In fact Jim was sure the other had also helped in closing the gap between them. He let himself enjoy the feeling of being so close to the man he’d adored for years, inhaling the scent of his musky aftershave while resting his head on his shoulder and closing his eyes. For the first time in a long time, he felt completely at ease.

“Oh ho ho!” A loud voice startled Jim. “Looks like the birthday boy is getting sleepy!” Michael teased.

“Roy and Jim snuggling? That’s pretty gay,” Kevin snorted, “I don’t think you have much of a chance with Jim, though.”

Jim felt Roy tense up at that, and saw a panicked look flit across his face before he turned to look at Pam.

“Who did you tell?” Roy hissed at her.

“I swear I didn’t tell anyone. Roy, you know I wouldn’t do that to you. I really swear it!” Pam assured.

“Calm down, it was just a joke,” drawled Kevin, “but wait, does that mean you really are… gay?”

“OMG! That’s why you dumped Pam!” Kelly exclaimed with an extremely smug look having figured it out.

And with that, Roy ran out of the room.

Jim hesitated for only a second before chasing after him, thundering through the office and down the corridor to reach him.

“Roy, wait,” Jim called after him.

At the sound of Jim’s voice, Roy stopped and turned around. His cheeks were flushed and it looked as if he were trying to hold back tears, humiliation apparent on his face. Jim advanced tentatively until he was once again close to Roy.

“Come to ridicule me? Ask me questions? Whatever it is, I don’t care,” Roy sighed, leaning back against a wall.

“What? No, come on man,” Jim said, “I just wanted to check that you were alright.”

“Why?”

Jim took another step towards Roy, this time so close he could pick out every tiny detail of the other man’s face. His own hazel eyes met blue, except now they weren't just blue. His eyes were an ocean. Patterns of grey and green danced across his iris, intertwined with the deep, rich blue; Jim could even spot a fleck of gold below one of Roy's pupils. Every imperfection was visible, every pore, every scar, and Jim had never seen anyone so beautiful.

“You know, you’re not the only closeted guy working here.”

He studied Roy’s face, waiting for a reaction to his words.

“What? I thought- you and Pam- you were always staring at her,” Roy whispered.

He was close. Dangerously close - mere centimetres apart.

“It wasn’t her I was looking at,” Jim breathed, “It was always you.”

Roy was the first to close the gap, lips parted and eyes fluttering shut as he tilted his chin upwards to meet Jim’s lips. Heat flooded through Jim as he wrapped his arms around Roy’s waist and pulled him in closer, then tilted his head to deepen the kiss. Too soon, Roy pulled away, breathing heavily and looking Jim in the face.

“Was that- was that okay?” Roy asked.  
In response, Jim cupped the back of his neck and pulled him into another kiss.

“I kinda like you,” Roy said softly as they broke apart once again.  
“I kinda like you too,” Jim replied with a grin.

**Author's Note:**

> They're kinda cute <333  
> Thank you for reading this! It was pretty fun to write :)


End file.
